Kicker Phil Dawson #4 of the Cleveland Browns walks off the field after a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers won 24-10. (Photo by David Dermer/Diamond Images/Getty Images)

Photo: Diamond Images, Diamond Images/Getty Images

Kicker Phil Dawson #4 of the Cleveland Browns walks off the field...

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Phil Dawson's only misses last year with the Browns were a blocked 28-yarder, and a 39-yard miss in the season finale.

Two weeks after releasing David Akers, 38, the 49ers signed former Browns placekicker Phil Dawson, 38, who is coming off the best season of his 14-year career.

Dawson, who ranked second in the NFL in field-goal percentage (93.5) and made his first Pro Bowl in 2012, was signed Tuesday to a one-year contract with undisclosed financial terms.

After appearing in one postseason game since 1999 with Cleveland, Dawson said playing for a Super Bowl contender was appealing. And so was reuniting with 49ers special teams coach Brad Seely, who held the same title with the Browns in 2009 and '10. And then there was the Bay Area weather (the high in Cleveland on Tuesday was 36 degrees) ...

"When you start mixing all of that together," Dawson said, "even for an idiot like me it's a pretty easy decision."

Dawson's arrival figures to stabilize a position that became a surprising source of anxiety for the 49ers last year. A year removed from his sixth Pro Bowl appearance, Akers endured a nightmare season in which he ranked 30th in the league in field-goal percentage and made 9 of 19 attempts from 40-plus yards.

In contrast, Dawson's lone misses in last year's 29-of-31 season were a 28-yard attempt that was blocked and a 39-yard attempt in Cleveland's regular-season finale. Since 2011 began, he's made 27 of 29 attempts from 40-plus yards, including 14 of 15 from at least 50 yards. Dawson has missed 14 field goals (93-of-107) since 2009 - one more than Akers missed in the final 14 regular-season games of 2012.

His next challenge: Candlestick Park.

Dawson has played only two of his 215 career games at the stadium where winds have been known to vex kickers. He's made 1 of 2 attempts at Candlestick.

On Tuesday, he asked Seely if he could access the 49ers' home stadium in the offseason. Told he could, he began devising a plan to enter the Stick when the weather was the worst. Fortunately, he noted, he's experienced his share of inclement-weather kicking in Cleveland.

"I'll study the weather forecast and when there's supposed to be bad days, you can find me down there," Dawson said. "I want to get in there and I want to start hitting balls. I wanted to see what's going on and get a game plan."

Dawson, who ranks 12th in NFL history in field-goal percentage (84.0), acknowledged one downside to playing for his new team: He can no longer wear No. 4, which is worn by All-Pro punter Andy Lee.

After wearing the number since his college days at Texas, Dawson recently braced his three children for the possibility of sporting a different single digit.

Any suggestions, Dawson asked his kids.

"One of my boys goes 'Be No. 8,' " Dawson said, laughing at the memory of his child suggesting Steve Young's retired number. "I kind of sat there and I said, 'Son, in San Francisco you don't wear No. 8. So that's probably going to be a family decision what I end up wearing."

Moore signed: The 49ers added to their wide receiving corps by signing Marlon Moore, 25, who had 12 catches for 244 yards and two touchdowns in three seasons with the Dolphins.

A Sacramento native who attended Fresno State, Moore said his first priority will be to establish himself on special teams. As a gunner with the Dolphins, he lined up outside and used his speed to cover punts and kickoffs. Moore, who has eight special-teams tackles the past two years, ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash at his pro day in 2010.